Digital cameras tank

Digital camera sales slump as people use smartphones to take snaps, according to new research.

According to bean counters at Mintel the digital camera market was worth £598 million in 2011 and this is down by nearly a third from 2006, when it was worth £843 million. Eight per cent of UK adults, or three million consumers, now say they are unlikely to replace their camera when it breaks, instead relying on their phones.

The market is expected to fall further and be worth only £525 million in 2016. Camcorder sales are going the same way falling by 21 per cent in the same time frame, from £354 million to £279 million.

Mintel Technology Analyst Samuel Gee said that although smartphone cameras do not typically match the quality of output of dedicated devices, the technology is consistently improving, as the quality of camera image output becomes too high for consumers to reliably distinguish between competitors.

Figures show that 80 per cent of use a digital camera or camcorder, with 40 per cent relying on them exclusively. This compares to the 45 per cent who use their smartphone. Traditional film cameras are used by only eight per cent of Brits.